Image Blogging: I Love Statues Pt.1

I enjoy statues, I find them fun. That is why I wanted to start a new feature on my blog where every once in a while I throw down a quick post, profiling a notable and/or interesting statue from around the world.

Now, I'm not gonna profile anything like Christ the Redeemer (that huge statue of the big J that overlooks Rio), Rodin's The Thinker or Michelangelo's David for the simple fact that you ALL have seen them before. What I am gonna do is show you some interesting and thought provoking statues that are somewhat lesser known than the super iconic examples i just provided.

Here's the first:



1. The Soviet War Memorial, Treptower Park - Berlin, Germany


Talk about symbolism. Yevgeny Vachutich sculpted this 12 m tall treasure, depicting a Soviet soldier clutching a sword in one hand and a young German child in his other, stepping on a smashed and broken swastika.
Take it how you want, but what I see is a powerful and courageous liberator, portrayed by the idealized depiction of the noble soldier clutching the sword, rescuing a lost and helpless Germany, which is symbolized by the child our heroic Russian is carrying to safety, from a formerly ubiquitous and mighty ideology that has been defeated and crushed under the weight of the all powerful Soviet army proving its baselessness and invalidity, most obviously depicted by the mutilated swastika under the soldier's feet.



**NEW BLOG FEATURE**
Run-On Sentence on Steroids

I know, I know, sometimes I tend to ramble. Mostly, my errors are minor in nature and are only deemed mistakes if the reader decides to judge them as such.
Other times, the run-on sentences I am so prone to writing are a bit more glaring. I often catch my own mistakes and correct them, but at other times these monstrous sentences are caught and I decide to keep them. From now on, those instances will be known as "Run-On Sentences on Steroids" and will be represented by this image of the world famous runner and notorious steroid user, Ben Johnson.



This "Run-On Sentence on Steroids" is for the paragraph long behemoth and the very end of my post.

"Your nothing but a goddamned Punk!" Pt. 1

For approximately 15 years, starting somewhere in the early 70's and slowing down in the mid 80's, Punk Rock, its precursors, derivatives and outgrowths appeared at the forefront of popular music in terms of innovation, acclaim and popularity.

I have compiled a list of more than 10 artists/groups whose musical styles exist somewhere within the lexicon of Punk Music, whom i have deemed to have made a significant contribution to popular music or have left an important legacy through their influence of other musical acts.

I'll try to present the list chronologically, although some of the time frames overlap and the start times of some artists don't coincide with the time their music started conforming (pun intended) to punk sensibilities. The list will be presented over the next couple weeks, 2 artists at a time.

1. T.REX

Led by eccentric and flamboyant front man Marc Bolan, T.REX moved away from the tired trends of their contemporaries, introducing their own brand of post-hippy psychedelia in short, catchy and overall simple bursts that allowed their style to move in a different direction than many of their 14 minute acid trip track producing peers.

2. THE FACES

Featuring guitarist Ronny Wood of the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart of EZ Rock Radio, the band might be the only true "classic rock" group to be placed under the umbrella of Punk simultaneously. While not rejecting musical precision, THE FACES set the focus of their music on soul, feeling and energy; a characteristic that would become a defining mark of future punk rockers. Further, the rawness of an unrefined Rod Stewart on vocals coupled with a band that was ready and willing to play heavy and hard music helped THE FACES create a raucous and dirty sound that set their music along the path toward what would evolve into Punk Rock.

Her Majesty Elizabeth II, The Queen of Canada

Wha??
Lol, that title makes absolutely no sense to me.

Before i begin writing this, I'd like you all to know that I have immense respect for the history of the British Isles and the Commonwealth of Nations and I hold the history of my own country, Canada, very near to my heart.
I also wish to state that in writing this I am not intending to deny Canada's history or denounce any of it's traditions. The monarchy has been an institution of utmost importance throughout the history of Canada, from the Canadian Crown's roots in the former French Crown, to the wars of the American Revolution and the War of 1812, where citizens loyal to the British Monarchy migrated to Canada and fought to preserve "British North America", effectively forming the basis upon which the Dominion of Canada was formed. And as recently as the two World Wars in the 20th century, brave and loyal Canadians heeded the call and joined soldiers from the Monarch's other realms to fight a common enemy, albeit an enemy who posed an unequal danger to said realms. During WWI the threat to Canada's existence was undeniably low, however, it was behind the King's flag and under an oath to George VI that valiant Canadian soldiers struggled and died gloriously in his name. Men and woman smarter than myself point to this monumental struggle and refer to the blood spilled by Canadians in Europe as the birth of a genuinely independent nation, a truly distinctive country five decades after Confederation.
So after the points I just made, about the rich history and the significant role Britain's Kings and Queens have had in making the land I love the place it is today, why do I say a Canadian Monarchy makes no sense? Well, because it doesn't. In a modern and progressive society, like the one we enjoy in Canada, the antiquated notion of one person holding "ultimate executive authority" through some hereditary right is laughable, even if the right is technical in nature and exists in words only. Society, politics, the rule of law and collective opinion have evolved over the past 100 or so years, to such a point that these ideas no longer hold water and its existence in the constitution of a free and democratic nation in 2009 is actually quite repugnant.
Again, I'm not bashing the Queen, and I would choose the constitutional monarchy we currently live in over a number of other forms of government, but please explain to me what relevance, outside of tradition, the Queen holds for us today. Why is she recognized as someone with the authority to change the laws and alter the lives of Canadians when her only personal involvement in Canadian affairs are purely ceremonial? I believe it to be a resistance to change. What we have seems to be working so why change it, right? Well, as i said earlier, the institution of a monarchy in a country like ours lacks any sense of usefulness and as a result it lacks validity.
I know this isn't exactly the most pressing issue currently facing Canadians, and I'm not particularly adamant about changing the constitution to remove the Queen's powers; not right now anyways, with all the other problems our MP's should be dealing with... But, I find it somewhat silly that above and beyond honoring and holding respect for an institution that did have a hand in building our nation, we venerate this institution to a position as the ultimate judge of right and wrong. I mean, why should new Canadians, public servants and members of our military swear allegiance to the Queen? Does she embody Canada? I think not. It is an outdated system, and even tho the Queens powers are symbolic, they should not exist at all.



Ps. Here's The Sex Pistols

PROGRESS

I want to keep this short and sweet. 

Here is Martin Luther King Jr's famous and prophetic "Mountain Top" speech, delivered April 3rd 1968, the day before he was assassinated...

"...It is no longer the choice between violence and non violence in this world. It's non violence or non existence!"

Part 1

Part 2

Make Love not War, Babies not Bombs

The topic of today's blog post is "Guernica" a 1937 painting by Pablo Picasso, depicting the bombing of the Spanish city of Guernica by the air force of Nazi Germany during the Spanish Civil War.
The Spanish Civil War took place between 1936 and 1939 and was fought between Spain's Republican forces, a conglomerate of various political factions, workers and peasants, who joined forces to fight the Nationalists (ie. the Fascists) led by Francisco Franco. To make a long story short, Franco was a general in the Spanish army who led a coup attempting to bring down Spain's republican government. Franco's politics aimed to centralize the government's control over most aspects of Spanish society; much like Mussolini had done in Italy and Hitler in Germany a few years earlier.
The war is remembered for the atrocities committed by both sides as well as for the polarisation it exposed in the general views and aims of the opposing factions. The war was also notable for the moral and military support given to the Nationalists by Germany and Italy, who provided weapons, supplies and even troops.
Guernica was a significant target during the war because of its status as a major Republican stronghold. The bombing campaign also provided a chance for the Germans to test out their newly formulated military tactics, which were used on an even greater scale only 2 years later upon the breakout of WWII. The war resulted in the end of the Spanish Republic and military rule, led by Franco until his death in 1975.

Now before i get into the painting i must warn y'all that I'm no art critic. I have some knowledge of art, but to be honest I am no authority on the subject by any stretch of the imagination. Basically what you are about to get is a brief description and write up as well as a quick commentary on the painting from a layman, albeit a layman with at least enough rudimentary knowledge to discern works of art that are acclaimed and well known from those that are truly special. "Guernica" is truly special.
The painting depicts destroyed buildings and dead, dying and suffering animals and people amidst chaos and violence in the aftermath of the bombing campaign. Clearly visible are images of a hysterical woman holding the body of her dead child, a dying horse (with a human skull making up part of it's head) about to fall, a dead soldier still clutching a broken sword, with a flower growing out of the destroyed and now unusable sword, and a man trapped and being consumed by flames, as well as a number of other disturbing images.
From a symbolic point of view the painting is open to interpretation by whom ever is viewing it. Picasso himself remained vague throughout his life, when asked about the symbolic meaning of his masterpiece, and a distinguishing quality of many of Picasso's works are the multiple, often contradictory, and mostly ambiguous symbols employed. One thing however, is crystal clear; the painting is clearly and overwhelmingly anti-war, and in my opinion does an exceptional job of highlighting the confusion, pain, brutality and barbarity of war.

The painting was the center piece of the Spanish contribution to the 1937 World's Fair in Paris, and over the years shuffled between multiple museums in various countries until finally being returned to Picasso's native Spain after the death of Francisco Franco. Today the painting is housed in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid. Reproductions of the painting can be found in every corner of the globe, notably, a tapestry copy at the UN in New York. "Guernica" received mixed reviews upon its unveiling, but over the years it grew in popularity and eventually became a sort of moral banner pointed to by those opposing repressive political regimes (ie. Nationalist Spain), war and injustice in all it's forms.

Good Job Toronto. You Made...

It's the first post of the new blog so i had to rep my city.

There are numerous ways i could honour our fair city. I wanted to be concise and to the point, and i also really didn't want to sit here and try to convince you why mentioning this, or writing about that would be the best way to big up Toronto. So i chose something simple, not the mother-of-all Toronto props, but a mark of distinction that any city and its population would be proud of.

"Good job, Toronto. You made..."

YOU FORGOT IT IN PEOPLE

by

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE

An oldie but a goodie....

This is possibly the best full album released by any musical act out of Toronto in the last 10 years.  It can even be argued that this cd should be placed among Toronto's to 5 albums ever. It can also be argued however, that this isn't even the groups greatest accomplishment. Keeping in mind always, of course, that music is subjective. 

Obviously, I'm not gonna comment on what i think because for one, I'm not qualified, and second I'm really not that sure...

What I am sure of tho, is that this is a very bad ass cd any way you slice it and it fits well as an accolade to our city and as an achievement of our city's music scene.

I'm  sure most of you have heard it, if you haven't you really should. Here are 2 BIG TRACKS. Enjoy

Track 2. Almost Crimes

Track 8. Cause = Time

Hello Fiends, er Friends

Welcome to my blog.
This initial post is intended to serve as my manifesto or proclamation; Essentially letting you know what this blog will be all about.

As many of you are aware, I currently write for my company, PARADIME's blog, aptly titled "THE PARADIME BLOG". On The PARADIME blog, my teammates and I discuss all things related to PARADIME, including night life, the entertainment industry and all other topics that can be grouped together with them. We attempt to entertain and make you laugh at the same time as keeping you informed.


This blog will serve the same purpose, except it will be about all things in my brain that are not relevant to PARADIME. You will find my opinions and comments on various topics including art, music, sex, politics, pop culture, social issues and other things of that ilk.

I wont ever write about my day, my job or any other mundane bullshit that most other "personal blogs" are known and disliked for... I promise every post will have a point.

I hope you enjoy it.

Matt P

PS. All those links in the 2nd
paragraph have a secret message
(Join the PARADIME group on Facebook. lol.)